Stockton South (UK Parliament constituency)-The Daily Ledger

Stockton South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since December 2019 by Matt Vickers, a Conservative MP.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to moderate boundary changes and will be renamed Stockton West, to be first contested at the next general election.

Stockton South (UK Parliament constituency)

Boundaries

1983–1997: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth, Egglescliffe, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick, Mandale, Parkfield, Preston, Stainsby, Victoria, Village, and Yarm, and the Borough of Middlesbrough wards of Ayresome, Brookfield, and Kader.

Stockton South (UK Parliament constituency)

1997–2010: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth, Egglescliffe, Elm Tree, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick, Mandale, Parkfield, Preston, Stainsby, Victoria, Village, and Yarm. The three Middlesbrough wards were transferred to the redrawn Middlesbrough constituency.

Stockton South (UK Parliament constituency)

2010–present: The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees wards of Bishopsgarth and Elm Tree, Eaglescliffe, Fairfield, Grangefield, Hartburn, Ingleby Barwick East, Ingleby Barwick West, Mandale and Victoria, Parkfield and Oxbridge, Stainsby Hill, Thornaby-on-Tees, and Yarm.

Stockton South consists of the south-western half of Stockton-on-Tees and on the same bank, upstream, the town of Eaglescliffe – on the southern bank of the River Tees are the towns of Thornaby-on-Tees, Yarm, and Ingleby Barwick.

History

The seat was formed from a combination of Stockton-on-Tees and Thornaby in 1983, predominantly as a replacement to the latter seat.

Political history

More middle-class than neighbouring Stockton North, this seat was first won by the SDP-Liberal Alliance in a narrow victory at the 1983. Ian Wrigglesworth, the former Labour MP for Thornaby, defected to the newly formed Social Democratic Party in 1981, and held the successor seat as the SDP candidate.

This result came after the Conservative candidate's nomination was withdrawn when he was revealed to have previously been in the National Front.

Following this, the seat was held by a Conservative for ten years, from 1987 to 1997. It was a bellwether in Labour's landslide at the 1997 general election, and its member, Dari Taylor, retained it until the 2010 general election, when the Conservative, James Wharton narrowly won back the seat.

It was the Conservative Party's only gain in the North East, with Wharton substantially increasing his majority at the 2015 general election. However, Labour's victory in the seat in 2017 saw the seat's 30 year status as a bellwether constituency come to an end. In 2019, the Conservatives took it back, in line with the general swing in their favour in multiple north east red wall seats, despite only being held by Labour for fifteen of its 39 years of existence.

Constituency profile

Based on ONS data, workless claimants and registered jobseekers, were in May 2017 lower than the North East average of 5.9% and also lower than the national average of 4.6%, at 3.4% of the population.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

The next United Kingdom general election will see the constituency renamed to Stockton West with minor boundary changes to include villages west of Stockton.

Candidates

Joe Dancey

The Labour Party announced in October 2023 that Joe Dancey would be their candidate. Dancey was born in Stockton-on-Tees to James Cook University Hospital NHS Nurse Mary Dancey and his father who was a Chemical Engineer at Seal Sands. He was educated in Eaglescliffe at Junction Farm Primary School and Egglescliffe School. He attended the University of Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, politics and economics. He was previously head of Lord Sebastian Coe's office for the London 2012 Summer Olympics organising committee, playing a key role in organising the London Olympics, and also worked for Baroness Amos and former Hartlepool MP Peter Mandelson, a fellow graduate of St Catherine's College, Oxford. Dancey's partner is the Labour MP for Ilford North and Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting.